Southwest Scene.

Salsa & Tortillas Lets Customers Have It Their Way

Try rice, corn or Mexican potatoes with your fajita when you dine at Salsa & Tortillas Loncheria in Bolingbrook, which has been compared to a well-known chain of restaurants.

"A lot of people say we're the Mexican Boston Market," said Dan Castaneda, the restaurant's vice president of operations. "You can mix and match the side orders with entrees and eat something different every day."

The restaurant offers six different side orders. They include those familiar standbys, rice and beans, but also corn and Mexican potatoes, a savory mix of potatoes, sausage, tomatoes and onions. At $1.25 each, these side orders can be ordered with steak, beef or chicken tacos, fajitas, or burritos, which cost from $2.75 to $4.25.

The vibrant red and yellow decor give the ambience of central Mexico, which is where the restaurant's recipes originated.

Castaneda is no stranger to the restaurant business. His father, Eduardo, opened a taco stand on 26th Street in Chicago in the 1970s. It was so successful that it grew into a restaurant called Lalo's, with six locations in Chicago and the suburbs.

"It was a booming business from the start," said Castaneda, whose uncles, cousins and siblings are all involved, to some degree, in the business.

The same food that is offered at Lalo's is sold at Salsa & Tortillas Loncheria, Castaneda said, "but at a discount." Beverages include margaritas, Mexican bottled sodas in such flavors as guava and tamarind, and rice water, a sweet drink that tastes of vanilla and cinnamon.

The restaurant also has a drive-through window for people in a hurry, Castaneda said.

He explained: "We just want to show people that there's a lot more to Mexican cuisine than tacos."